My wife started complaining about intermittent clicking. First is was during hard turns and a couple days ago she heard it while accelerating..
I searched here to find that she needed new axles.

I took the car to the shop today and they couldn't duplicate the problem. It hasn't made the sound all weekend.. probably because it was warm outside. And they did not find any rips or grease leaks in any boots.

So my questions is, is it OK to drive without causing serious damage anywhere? Since the boots are OK and there are no grease leaks, to me that means the grease is breaking down since the noise goes away when the grease warms up.. Can't they "repack" with fresh grease to address the issue?

Thanks.
05 TL auto BTW. 108,000 miles.

 

They will be fine as long as the clicking doesn't become constant, but make certasin there isn't a rip/cut along one of the ribs that might be hard to see. Repacking is an alternstivre, but the axles need to be removed, broken down, CV joints cleaned, lubed, assemble axles along with new boots and clamps, reinstall. Most have found it to be less expensive and faster to just replace the axles.

 

Aggghrrr.. I heard something similar while driving today.. I was going about 15-20mph in a school zone and I can hear a small clicking noise when moving the steering wheel left and right.. I don't where to begin.. I started noticing an issue with my PS tire is wearing down on the inner wheel.. Where should I start looking to see what is causing this??

 

First you'll need to get and alignment to see if the suspension allows adjustment to correct the tire wear and while on the rack have the CV boot(s) checked for any splits. If boot(s) are split, have the axle(s) replaced after alignment. Just a note, the replacement of axles will not alter the alignment so paying for this service isn't like throwing money down the drain, as long as the shop does a decent job.

 

Thanks Turbo.. At least I have a starting point now.